Walking Shadow
by Vendelyn Silverhawk
Summary: Sequel to "More Things in Heaven and Earth." Less than a year after Thor and Sif's wedding, Asgard celebrates yet another matrimony, and between her sorcerer husband and her work on Midgard, Jane's like seems to have finally found balance. Yet when The Convergence brings with it an unprecedented threat and unexpected news heightens the stakes, nothing is as it seems.
1. Prologue

**A/N: So, this story is much later in coming than I thought I would be (school is slaying me, and on top of colleges and SATs and all of the extra stuff IB likes to have us to just for the lolz I think I'm going to be more worried about paying for my funeral than college) but at long last here is the beginning of the sequel to "More Things in Heaven and Earth!" **

**This is just a prologue, so no Lokane yet- Thor and Loki's bond is just as critical in my stories to the romance, so I hope you enjoy this! **

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"She should have died hereafter.

There would have been a time for such a word.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time,

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing."

_~Macbeth_

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_Snow dusted the ground of the wide, empty-seeming land, covering long stretches of black rock and climbing ebony cliffs in blinding white. Standing in the center of this endless plain currently caught between eternal night and illuminating brightness, a figure equally stuck between two extremes stood and watched the sky fall. _

_That was what they called it on Svartleheim- be it rain, or snow, or the drops of sun that burned in the air and tickled the skin with warmth like so many firebirds. Any precipitation and the sky was falling, and if it was the sun drops the Dark Elves all huddled back in their caves, for the mountain-dwellers, or treehouses for the jungle-creepers, and for those honored enough to live in one of the cities, grand, towering houses that defied gravity with their construction. They were creatures of night and darkness first and foremost, so they waved away the day with curtains and hoods if they had business to do discreetly, and at night they woke to live their lives as they always had. _

"Moooootherrrrr," Thor pouted, lower lip sticking out as he flung himself across the already rumpled sheets. "That is not a story! This is bo-ring!"

"You don't think that all stories begin with killing and heroes, do you?" his mother probed as she watched him roll over onto his back, round face staring at her from upside down. She smoothed out the covers around her while she waited for an answer, and when none came she looked to the more restrained of her sons, who had curled against the pillows by the bed's large arching headboard and not moved an inch since she began the story.

"Loki? What do you think of the story so far?"

"It is… slow," he said finally, unable to say that he, too, longed for her to come to the part with heroes and adventures and saving the day. "But interesting. I suppose even Dark Elves get a beginning."

"But why, mother?" Thor asked, kicking his legs aimlessly. "They are nothing but tricksters who will steal the cloths off your back and kill you just for fun. Besides, they are all dead."

"They were alive once, Thor. And while they lived they were not only thieving and killing or making war."

"I _thought _you said you were going to tell us about King Bor and Malekith, not the _History of the Realms_," Thor moaned.

"It's a fascinating book, Thor- you should try reading it some time," Loki snapped, sticking out his tongue. Thor threw a pillow at him and Frigg had to move to sit between them in order to keep a full-fledged fight from breaking out. It was already past their bedtime and if they started to get riled up they would never sleep.

"Alright, hush boys- do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?" she murmured, effectively shutting their mouths and both scooted closer, eyes wide.

_The figure on the plane was from one such large city- the capitol city, in fact, where he served his Queen with all of his dark and malicious magyks. Sometimes they were harmless tricks meant to amuse her and her court, other times they were so foul and evil that only the darkest hearts could keep from being sick at the displays. Malekith himself had the darkest heart in Svartleheim, and combined with being the most powerful sorcerer in the realm he inspired fear like no other. Even the Queen respected him, and throughout the Nine Realms no one said his name above a whisper, if they dared to speak it at all. _

_Tall, he was, with skin as white as the moon and long hair whiter than any gemstone, like any other Dark Elf. But some said his ears were even more wickedly pointed than was normal, and his eyes were worse than staring into black holes- all who looked into them saw oblivion and death. When you looked at him stained in the blood of those he killed, sometimes you would see black blood dripping down his bone armor- he had slaughtered his own people for fun in twisted magical experiments. _

_So when The Convergence, an alignment of all Nine Realms which only occurs once every five thousand years, came upon them with Svartleheim at the center, Malekith saw his chance to bring about death and destruction on a scale never known before in the universe. No one knew, not even the Queen, what dark ambitions Malekith harbored in his heart of hearts- the desire to magically enslave every living creature in the Nine Realms and bend them under his twisted will. And The Convergence would give him the chance to unleash the most powerful weapon known to the realms and achieve his dark dreams in one move. _

_The Aether. Slinking and red as blood, pure, raw energy that Malekith could control with a thought, had slumbered in the heart of Svartleheim, waiting for the chance to answer the call of its master and bring destruction upon all…_

"But he didn't use the Aether, did he?" Loki piped up anxiously, green eyes wide and horrified at his mother's chilling description, too caught up in the story to realize he was interrupting. "The Nine Realms weren't enslaved?"

"Of course not, _imbecile_," Thor mocked, using one of Loki's favorite words against him. "Otherwise we would not be here."

"Shush, or I won't finish," Frigg warned, and quickly both fell silent again.

_King Bor, father of Odin Allfather, ruler of the Realm Eternal, suspected what Malekith was planning, and in the days leading up to the Convergence assembled all the armies of Asgard to do battle on Svartleheim. As soon as news of Malekith's attack reached Asgard, Bor used the Bifrost to attack Svartleheim, and on the vast Black Plane, with all nine realms aligning overhead and giving Malekith the chance to spread his troops to each, he met Malekith head-on. _

_Dark Elf troops had already reached Vanaheim and ravaged the villages, their black armor drenched in innocent blood, blank white masks striking fear into the hearts of all who stood before them. On Svartleheim Bor and the warriors of Asgard battled with all their might against the onslaught of Malekith's forces, who slaughtered drove after drove of warriors in the name of their Queen and her Mage. _

_In the midst of this battle, when the golden horde of Asgard began to turn the tide and fight the Dark Elves back, inspiring fear and awe in their own right, Malekith saw that he could wait no longer. Striding to the mountaintop which overlooked the mighty battle, he called upon the terrible power of the Aether, intending to unleash it on all Nine Realms and obliterate every Asgardian on Svartleheim. _

_Just before he struck, however, King Bor saw his plan, and summoned Heimdall to use the Bifrost to hide the Aether away in a far corner of the universe, where Malekith could never hope to find it. Outnumbered, his troops dying and his plain failing, Malekith still not did not accept defeat. _

_Hoping with his last breaths to kill as many Asgardian soldiers as he could, including the King, he summoned every Dark Elf warship in the sky and used every last shred of his magic to sending them plummeting to the surface. Triggering every last one to explode, he even called up the magmatic forces beneath the earth to surge up and lay waste to the land. King Bor used the Bifrost to remove his troops, but it was too late to save Svartleheim. Malekith's madness and thirst for power had destroyed it, ripping across the land and smothering even those who had not joined in his fight. _

_Nothing was left of Malekith, the Aether, or Svartleheim but empty plains, burnt forests, and the ruins of cities. An entire realm reduced to ash, and King Bor sat once again looking over a Nine Realms made safe. _

Silence loomed at the end of Frigg's tale, and although Thor still looked _overwhelmed_ by images of the grand war between dark elf and glowing Aesir warrior, Loki was pale as a sheet and Frigg saw that he had moved to sit on his hands to keep them from trembling.

Hm. She knew she shouldn't have let Loki sit in on Thor's bedtime story, but he had looked so lonely sitting outside in the hallway, refusing to go to bed until Thor did…

"Tell it again!" Thor demanded, although his eyes drooped sleepily and the winking stars outside the window were a testament to how late it was.

"What?" Loki yelped. "Y-you want her to tell it a_gain_?"

"You are not deaf, are you?" Peering at Loki, something sparked in Thor's gaze that sent a smug grin across his face. "No, you are scared!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!" Thor mocked. "What, the _great Loki, _with all his magic, is afraid ghosts?"

"Thor, be kind," Frigg warned. "Or shall I tell Loki the story of how you insisted on sleeping with your father and me for a fortnight after I told you the story of the Frost Giant King?"

A wicked glint found its way into Loki's green eyes, his fear shifting as he mentally turned some gears. Frigg could practically hear him asking her to tell him about the Frost Giant King, so before he could plan any mischief and before Thor could do anything else stupid, she got up and clapped her hands, causing the room to dim.

"I've told you your story, now to bed, both of you," she ordered, and Loki reluctantly slunk off the bed while Thor scrambled to the headboard, burrowing under the thin sheets. Frigg bent down to kiss him goodnight, but Thor swatted her away irritably.

"I don't need a kiss, mother," he insisted, puffing up his chest in an attempt to look older than his few decades. "I am not a child anymore."

"Very well, sweet dreams, then," Frigg murmured, smoothing back his hair, before walking with Loki out into the hall.

As soon as the door of Thor's room was closed Loki started down the hall, steps quick and silent, stiff shoulders betraying his anxiety. He did not relax until he was in his own room, safe surrounded by the draping emerald curtains and constellations roving around on the ceiling, courtesy of the small gemstone on his chest.

Knowing better than to offer a kiss after Thor refused, Frigg merely tucked Loki into his mound of pillows and blankets, ensured that the gem would project the stars all night, and moved to the doorway. In the darkness of the room, however, she saw Loki shift.

"Mother?" Such a small voice in the darkness, and so fearful! Frigg did not hesitate to move back to the bed, hand melding into Loki's perfectly. "Would you… kiss me goodnight?"

"Of course, my snowflake." So she did, warm lips meeting his pale, Jotunn-cold skin without hesitation. When she straightened up he looked more at ease than ever, a small smile even on his lips after the horrors of Thor's "bedtime story."

Frigg was halfway out the door again before Loki spoke the second time.

"Don't tell Thor."

"Never," she whispered, and his door clicked shut behind her.

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Tossing and turning, Loki's forehead was dotted with sweat, his child's hands bunching and grasping at the covers desperately as his chest heaved.

_White masks with black, dead eyes stared at him, probed-_

His heart beat against his chest, racing until his face screwed in pain.

_Blood pooled from the surface of the ruined Svartleheim, and with it came the red, shifting mass of the Aether-_

Moonlight falling through his half-curtained windows sent a square shaft of light straight across his circular bed, cutting his body in half so that only his face was left in shadow, left to twitch, lips parting in a whimper of fear. Shadows writhed in the corners despite his gemstone projecting the galaxy onto his ceiling now rather than stars, but the whirling mass of the universe above did nothing to ease his nightmares.

_Malekith grinned and revealed teeth pointed and already stained red-_

"Loki!"

Rather than scream when awakened, Loki felt the air being ripped from his lungs, terror clawing his heart until he was sure he was going to die silently. But then two strong hands clapped down on his shoulders and shook away the phantoms, so many cobwebs drifting away until he could see Thor's face silvered in the moonlight. The older boy was astride him on the bed, mouth twisted in a frown and blue eyes haunted, yet when Loki blinked and returned to the world of the living Thor breathed a sigh of relief. Flopping down onto the bed beside him, Thor gripped Loki's arm.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Thor whispered, eyes wide. "I had a nightmare, and couldn't stand being alone."

"Really?" Loki gasped, unable to accept the fear on his brother's face when earlier there had been only excitement.

"Really," Thor intoned gravely, nodding, blonde hair scratching against the sheets. "Everything seems scarier in the dark, even when it shouldn't be."

"Well…" returning Thor's grip, long fingers wrapped around his forearm, Loki steeled himself against the nightmare of Dark Elves and found solidity in his brother's firm gaze. "I had a nightmare, too."

For a moment they lay in silence, clinging to each other, moonlight and swirling galaxy above keeping them comfort in their imagined terrors. At last Loki sat up in the bed, ran one hand through his messy black hair, and licked his lips thoughtfully.

"I can scare away the dreams, I think…" he said uncertainly, glancing at Thor from the corner of his eyes.

"With magic?" Wide-eyed, Thor sat up as well, but made sure to move one of the larger pillows to his back as he faced the middle of the bed.

Nodding seriously, Loki rubbed his hands together, blowing cool breath between them and concentrating with all his might. Well of magic springing forth at his call, he send flowing tendrils of green light pouring from his fingers in a waterfall. It sprawled lankily over his arms and the rest of the bed, converging in the center of the room until a pulsing green magelight floated just above he and Thor.

Thor was not terribly impressed, but Loki snapped his fingers and suddenly more light appeared in the palm of his hand, springing out as if he were holding a star. Steadily and under Loki's careful eyes the light re-formed itself into the figure of a snake that wound around Loki's arm. A grin split Thor's face at the apparition, and he was promptly requesting animals.

By the time sleep stole into the room and its gentle fingers had drawn down their eyelids a menagerie of green-gleaming animals surrounded them, from the snake curled at Loki's feet to the rabbit twitching its way across the bed, the massive wolf pacing around the bed, and two ravens that rested on the headboard. As their chests rose and fell, filling the air with the dream-breath of infinite possibility, the door to Loki's room creaked open.

Golden hair washed silver in the moonlight, Frigg regarded the glowing animals with a smile- both at the picture of her son's back to back on the bed, and seeing the evidence of Loki's strong magic. He was a dedicated student, but more than that it came more naturally to him that it ever would an Aesir sorcerer. It was a validation of everything she and Odin had done that his powerful magic was now being used to chase off the nightmares, and keep him and his brother safe.

Still, it couldn't stay all night. Waving her hand in front of the animals, Frigg dissipated them with a thought, but a shiver ran through her when her Aesir magic came into contact with the cold Jotunn magic flowing through Loki's veins.

"Sleep well my thunderer," she murmured, drawing another blanket over the both of them. "My little snowflake."

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! I honestly can't say when the next chapter will be out, but I'll do my best to make it sooner rather than later. I welcome any criticisms or advice, please please please tell me what you like/don't like, better yet give me a suggestion. Have a scenario you want to see? Tell me and it might make it into the story! Much love from me to you all! 3**

_Review!_


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, due to how long getting this chapter up took, I'm going to have to estimate a two to three week waiting period for chapters on this story, thanks to school, preparing for college, IB exams coming up, and just life in general. Wish I didn't have to, but my sanity can't stand adding weekly updates to the schedule. :( With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Also, when I say "Review!" at the bottom of the story, I really mean it. Comments, criticisms, things you'd like to see! Tell me and I'll do my best to fix things/add things, truly! All of your voices count and I want to hear them! **

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He was floating on a river that wove through his mind, the only clear point in all its jumbling madness, and it made him think of home. Of the palace gardens where his mother loved to dirty her royal hands, where the ponds were large enough to swim in on hot summer days and even Thor was quiet sitting among the flowers, though he never stayed for long. It was here that Loki found comfort for decades, although he had little passion for plant life. Peace was what he sought, pure and undisturbed meditation in the sun where he could forget his cosmetic differences and practice magic without the overbearing mental presence of his father, brother, swordmaster.

Something moved to his right and when he opened his eyes lazily Loki saw that there was a woman with him on the river of pleasant memories, tangled in the water that flowed over naked limbs and spilled across the floor.

Not a river, then. He thought, reaching his arm out to snake between the covers and catch her waist. Although a sigh rippled through her body, she did not resist, auburn hair shining with copper tones in the sunlight filtering all around them.

It had been nice, floating on the river, so when its currents pulled his eyes back down Loki let them fall, and found himself swept away.

_ Her lips which he had tasted a thousand times, a thousand different ways on Midgard, managed to surprise him when they finally met. Maybe it was the scent his mother had given her, or the enchanted stars that held up her hair, or the pomegranate coloring of her lips that made her so tempting, but once their lips met Loki promised himself that they would not break away for anything but the most important business. _

_ "You are brighter than the stars tonight," Loki murmured, green eyes catching her shining gaze and marveling at the change the apple had wrought in her. She left right after the ceremony in order to change her dress and eat one of the apples of Idunn, and as her hands slipped away from the red sash Loki had felt something tug in him painfully. But just one hour later here she was, practically glowing with immortality, with the strength and longevity of the Aesir apparent in her rosy cheeks and luminous eyes. _

_ "Stop it," she said, looking away and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. _

_ "It's true; I can't believe what I've done to deserve a woman like you," he insisted as he took her hands and stepped out of the shadow of the great hall doors. As Thor and Sif's had been, Odin and Frigg had insisted that Loki and Jane's wedding be celebrated in the heart of the palace, the largest hall there was, only this time the guest list had been slightly different, and even the Warriors Three knew that none of Thor's rowdiness would be tolerated at Loki's wedding. _

_ "Actually, I can't believe it either," a voice said to their right, and when Loki looked he saw Jane's parents standing there, her mother looking at him sternly with her arms crossed over her dark gown. "Trying to take over her planet and now you're stealing her from her parents- remind me of what you see in him, darling?"_

_ "Mom!" Jane gasped, looking horrified, but then her mother laughed and any tension eased. _

_ "It was a joke, darling. But it won't be unless I get to congratulate my daughter before she's swept away again." This was said with a wink in Loki's direction. Bowing slightly, Loki let go of Jane's hand and she crossed the distance between her and her parents gratefully, taking them both into her arms. _

_ "I'm so proud, honey," Loki heard her father say tearfully. _

_ "I know, dad." _

_ When the trio split apart there were tears in all eyes, and Loki looked away at the easy display of sentiment. In such action, however, he saw Dr. Selvig coming over, and behind him Darcy and Fandral, the warrior roguishly stealing kisses with every step they took. Loki smirked at the sight- he knew of Darcy's intern Ian's puppy love for her, and that Fandral's womanizing reputation had surely reached Darcy's ears by now. It was yet to be determined whether or not she was up to the challenge of domesticating Fandral, or giving in to the more trustworthy Ian. Knowing Darcy, it would be neither- Loki had never met a more independent mortal._

_ Loki quickly excused himself, saying he would fetch himself and Jane refreshments, and slipped back into the crowd of people all milling around in their finery. All of the nobles were there, of course, as well as his parents and Thor and Sif, a few magicians from the Academy and anyone else of note, but aside from a few passing words or congratulations Loki had no business with any of them as he made his way over to the long, enchanted tables which after the dancing would be moved to the center of the room to make way for a riotous feast. _

_ "Had I not a wife, I would be very envious of you tonight, brother," Thor said, falling into step with Loki. No less threatening in an embroidered red tunic and black coat, Thor's hair in the torchlight was a lion's mane, and his eyes flashed- but with goodwill as Loki had never seen before. _

_ "I would envy me too, were I not myself, and if I weren't so afraid of Sif I would say I got the better of the two of us," Loki retorted playfully, eyes roving the hall both for Sif and his wife. _

_ When he caught her eye across the hall his composure melted all over again, and for a split second he couldn't breathe. In her gown of midnight blue that shimmered at the hem and spiraled up to a diamond clasp at the waist she looked every inch the princess of Asgard, and a silver circlet rested on her forehead to prove it, wrought in the most delicate hands with shapes of shooting stars and twining leaves. Around her neck the Summer Triangle pendant glowed in response to her happiness and good health, and as she chatted animatedly with Darcy and Fandral one hand reflexively strayed down to her stomach, pushing the fabric of the gown in its four-month bulge. In the torchlight it was as though she walked on the stars, a creature of the night and its infinite mysteries and everything about her beckoned him closer. _

_ "Be careful, Loki," Thor rumbled, and swallowing dryly Loki realized that he had been on the verge of breaking the two crystal glasses in his hands._

_ "It is about time the dancing began, don't you agree?" Loki said, and Thor's face lit up at the prospect of the party actually beginning. He quickly threaded off to fetch Sif and Loki queued the musicians, who readied their pipes, drums, and strings for the first dance. _

_ In a heartbeat he was at Jane's side with one hand extended, a playful smirk on his lips at her shocked expression. _

_ "You didn't think I wouldn't show you off, did you?" he murmured when she offered him her fingers. _

_ "A first dance? But that isn't tradition here-" _

_ "It is when the prince demands it." Slowly her surprise faded away into resignation and, beneath the surface, buzzing excitement. Together they swept out into the middle of the hall as the music began, and as one moved to the first of many notes. _

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When Loki's arm captured her waist, pale fingers grazing over her bare stomach, Jane couldn't help the sigh of pleasure that rolled from her lips and went to her toes. Little did she know that Loki, too, was only half-awake, but she was caught in her own dreams and content to let the sun warm her half-exposed skin as she burrowed deeper into the luxurious sheets with a smile on her face.

_ Frigg circled her with a keen eye, intelligent blue taking in every stitch of the dress as the seamstresses worked around Jane's "peculiarities." It was strange for them to make a dress for such a short woman, as the women of Asgard were typically Amazonian in proportion, and Jane's slight figure combined with the knowledge that the dress would need to be let out once the baby bump grew in the time between now and the wedding made their job all the more difficult. _

_ "How does it feel?" Frigg asked, settling on the divan in front of Jane and looking up at her questioningly. _

_ "Um… amazing, actually," Jane said, running her hands down the smooth-as-water skirt that was only half-constructed. So far she had seen the design rendered a hundred times- Frigg had been most insistent on having her input the entire process even though Jane was far from a fashion person- and across the room the finished painting sat on its easel, depicting her in the full cream and silver gown. What was currently on her body was but a fraction of the under layer of the exquisite dress that would, in theory, turn her into someone who looked vaguely like a princess. _

_ "I know it isn't much to look at now, but soon it will be fit for the woman wearing it. We'll need to keep the middle loose until a few days before the wedding to account for the baby, though…" the queen said, eyes narrowing as they roved Jane's midsection. _

_ "Thank you," Jane blurted, hands fluttering nervously. "For… everything, I guess. For not judging." _

"_If I had a gemstone for every time my sons were with a woman, I would have enough treasure to lure a dragon from its cave," she said, but upon noticing Jane's confused and horrified look quickly amended her statement. "There are certain things men do after the heat battle that are considered normal here, Jane. Neither of my sons, for all of their occasional restraint, could be expected to abstain forever, especially with women clamoring to get at Thor. Even Loki had his own… encounters, few that they were. Didn't Thor tell you that he was conceived a whole month before Odin and I were married?"_

_ Jane relaxed a little, but was still unreasonably troubled by learning of Thor and Loki's youthful exploits. Of course it was to be expected- people on Earth did it all the time, too, and she couldn't judge either of them when they came from such a different society. Just because she had waited… well, almost waited. Technically she was no better than either of them- the thought was comforting, considering the circumstances. _

_ "Um, Frigg… could I ask your advice on something?" she said hesitantly, tucking back her hair nervously. When the matriarch nodded, Jane swallowed. "How do I go about explaining to my parents that not only is my old boyfriend alive, but that we're engaged and I'm sort of… pregnant with a demi-god?"_

_ Frigg folded her hands, sighed, looked up and out the window, a serene expression settling across her features. "It has always been my experience that, eventually, the truth will reveal itself, and in this situation that the truth would be better received coming from you than anyone else."_

_ "Right…" Jane sighed, having heard the answer before it was given. Looking into the full-length mirror off to the side and seeing herself, again, in the beginnings of the splendid gown, she felt a flash of fear not only at having to explain the events of the last few months to her parents- all of the odd hours and disappearances for days on end, telling them to ignore any calls that were_ _listed as unknown numbers or if S.H.I.E.L.D. called her cellphone not to pick up- but at the prospect of being a bride. _

_ The baby hadn't been their primary reason for getting married- Jane was confident that they would have gotten to that eventually, this just sped things up- but dealing with a husband and a child within months was… daunting. _

_ And yet when she looked down at her stomach, the bump barely perceptible, a flash of warmth spread through her from the top of her head to the ends of her toes. She was going to be a mom. _

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Jane was reluctant to open her eyes, but the bright sunlight was insistent and as a breeze rolled through the room she felt a chill spread across her back. One arm cradling her full stomach she pulled herself upright on the bed, gazing about the room until at last her eyes alit upon the man sleeping beside her.

Dark hair unruly for the night before flashed across his forehead, but a serene smile graced his angular features when she reached out a hand to brush back his hair. When his eyes opened their unearthly green caused her breath to hitch in her throat and, out of nowhere, she wished that their child would have Loki's eyes.

"Good morning, love," he said, hand reaching up to capture hers and their fingers twined together. For a moment neither said a word; they just observed the other in a quiet stillness that they had become accustomed to in the past few weeks in their solitary retreat. Vanaheim was beautiful in the summer, and the queen of the Light Elves' realm owed Asgard more than a few favors, so for their honeymoon Loki and Jane had been granted access to one of the abandoned villas on the outskirts of a great forest, overlooking one of the minor farming villages of the realm.

"They already laid out breakfast," Jane said, pointing to the array of fruits and bread and wine on the other side of the room.

"Here is one species of elf that knows how to treat guests," Loki smiled, swinging over the side of the bed and reaching for his dark pants and tunic. Jane followed suit, slipping into a simple forest-green dress before joining her husband at the table by the floor-to-ceiling window.

"What do you mean?"

"Were they not extinct, the dark elves of Svartleheim would sooner flay us than feed us," Loki said, brow furrowing with uncharacteristic darkness.

"That's grim," Jane said, reaching across the table to grab his hand. "What's wrong? You seemed perfectly happy a minute ago."

"Nothing- before the pleasantness of the morning I was rather rudely interrupted is all," he said ruefully, mouth splitting in a fearful smile. "It seems childhood is not the only place for nightmares."

"What was your nightmare about?" Jane asked, suddenly not so keen on the fresh bread and exotic fruits that were native to Vanaheim. Her stomach churned, and she suspected it wasn't just morning sickness, although in the month they'd been there it had been getting worse despite elfish potions and Loki's spells.

"Nothing you'll want to hear about," he said, then purposefully began to cut slices of the bread and stacking them obsessively.

"But I do want to hear about it- talking might help," Jane said, reaching for the bread and beginning to nibble. Ever since she hit five months her appetite had been going haywire but for the past few days she hadn't been able to stomach anything at all- something to do with carrying a demi-god half-Jotunn, she supposed.

_ Spitting the last of her breakfast up into the ceramic pot, Jane moaned softly and prayed that it was over. The lingering acid in her throat assured her that no, it wasn't, and not a second later she was heaving bile into the once-beautiful decorative piece. Soft, icy hands caressed her neck and held her hair back as she threw up. _

_ "I don't feel good," she rasped once the fit was over and she was sure that there was nothing left in her to lose. Loki murmured a spell and instantly her throat was soothed, fiery headache easing, but she still felt like she'd been trampled as she pulled away from the pot and leaned back against the bedroom wall. _

_ "Yes, I figured you wouldn't," Loki said, and Jane's eyes flicked to his face at the feyness in his tone. Somewhere between concern- his hands on her hair- and fear- his thin lips and forced tone. _

_ "Loki… what do you mean?"_

_ "Eir broached the subject with me a few days ago, and when I sensed you again… my magic picked up another life-force, Jane." Somehow his words seemed to reach her through a vast, impossible space, smothered as if she were underwater._

_ Another life-force…_

_ "B-but I've been on the pill for months!" she gasped, wrapping her arms around her stomach. _

_ "I do not think that Midgardian chemicals apply to a union such as ours, Jane," Loki chuckled, his hands letting her hair fall and coming down to cradle the sides of her face. When they fell away Jane missed their presence keenly, but when she tried to meet Loki's eyes he looked away and scooted backwards on the floor, jaw stiff. _

_ His statue-like posture reminded her frighteningly of the weeks they had spent in Asgard after Thor's wedding getting to know each other- those many days filled with anger and pain that were desperately necessary for their relationship to work. Jane had known from the moment Loki gave her the Summer Triangle necklace that Loki loved her, and she loved him, but rationality had required honesty for their relationship to work and they had decided that once Jane returned to Midgard for a few days to assure her parents that she was alright and for Darcy and Erik to know that she would be safe in Asgard, they would begin their shared confession. Even after weeks of dragging up secrets that threatened to send them over the edge into their own personal demons- Loki had been shocked at how many Jane had- they had emerged together safe and sound, yet Jane knew that Loki's hundreds of years carried far more secrets than she would ever know or need to know. _

_ Now, this behavior, this drawing away, refusing to meet her eyes- it was what he had done when he had confessed, his mechanism for coping because he couldn't pretend to be haughty with her as he did his family, else he knew she would walk away despite what she felt. Knowing that there was something else he had kept that would make him afraid, that had to do with her being pregnant… _

_ "What is it?" she demanded, straightening up against the wall, hands tightening around her midsection. "What are you not telling me?"_

_ "Something that I had hoped I wouldn't need to for some time yet," he said with a sigh. "Jane, I told you about my actions before and during Thor's exile, and I never told you why but that it was something long passed that you would never need to worry over."_

_ Jane nodded numbly, remembering very well that night on the palace roof when Loki had promised no more secrets, and she had asked about that time. _

_ "I presume you have read the mortal agency's files on my?" Loki pressed. Jane blinked, surprised that he paid much attention to S.H.I.E.L.D.- at the time they had been nothing but meddlesome ants to him. _

_ "Yes. S.H.I.E.L.D. knows next to nothing, though. It's not like you stuck around long enough for them to dissect you."_

_ "But you do know that I am not the child of Odin and Frigg," he murmured, and Jane nodded numbly. "What you do not know- what none but my family and a select few know- is that I am even less their child than any random Aesir in the streets." The words had a bitter tinge to them, and Loki regarded his skin as if it was alien to him. _

_ "What do you mean?" But Jane had seen the files, noted the difference in his magic from his mother's the rare times they had both used it, how physically he stood out as a crow among doves. That didn't mean that she believed or understood the coming confession, though- understood why he was repeating the facts of his adoption to her when he had told her that all she ever needed to know that he was a prince, if not by blood. _

_ "I am not of Asgard, but Jotunheim, the discarded whelp of the fallen king of the frost giants," Loki spat, as if the words themselves were poison, and Jane felt her blood run cold. So her suspicions had only been partially right- he wasn't even Aesir. He was… well, Jane had never seen a frost giant, she just knew the doubtlessly flawed myths about them. _

_ "So… how does that change things?" she asked. "How do you look like everyone else, if you're not Aesir? Is it your magic?"_

_ "No- it is Odin's. He used it to shield me as a child, and this glamour is as much a part of me as my own natural magic. To discard it completely without direct contact to a Jotunn or extreme cold would be… painful, ill-advised, and unwanted."_

_ "Would you… would you show me what you look like just for a minute, then?" She was pregnant with what she now knew was not just a demi-god, thanks to her new Aesir status, but half-frost giant, and Loki had casually neglected to tell her that during their period of "full disclosure." One part of her was furious, but the other part, the scientist part, was absolutely fascinated. _

_ For his part Loki looked as though he had swallowed a lemon but, steeling himself, he raised his hands and held them out for Jane to see. Slowly he let his breath out through his nose, shoulders tense._

_ "Frost Giants are monsters, Jane- please do not ask this of me." _

_ "You should have thought about doing this before I got pregnant with a child that isn't even fully human- Asgardian, whatever," Jane said._

_ "If you do not want the child, there are ways to-" he didn't sound at all enthusiastic about the possibility of Jane not wanting their child, but the mere fact that he voiced it only strengthened Jane's urge to see his true form. _

_ "Don't say that!" Jane gasped, staring at him in horror. "Of course I want it- it just took me by surprise. Don't you want it?"_

_ "More than anything, I think," Loki said cautiously, still not meeting her eyes. "Unexpected though this is."_

_ "Then trust me, and show me who you really are," Jane pressed, reaching out to cup his cheek with her hand. Finally he met her gaze, and was the image of a man suffering. _

_ "Remove your hand if you do not wish to get frostbite," he said finally, and Jane scooted back against the wall, arms once again finding her stomach, as she watched the transformation. _

_ Around her the air temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees, sending Goosebumps shivering along her arms, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. It was with fascination and awe that she watched Loki's pale skin melt away in lieu of bright cerulean traced with winding scars that resembled frost. When he looked up his eyes were like twin rubies, pools of fire on an otherwise icy exterior. _

_ Jane's breath hitched in her throat, and she couldn't help but reach out a hand to let it hover over his own. Abruptly a smile twisted its way across her features in spite of her fear, and panic, and confusion. When she laughed Loki was so startled that the blue snapped away, a heartbeat later leaving him his normal Aesir self. _

_ "Jane?" he said worriedly as she pressed a hand to her mouth, fighting back laughter. _

_ "I would," she gasped. "I would get pregnant after just six months, and with someone who's not even related to my species. It's all very… ironic, for a scientist, don't you think?"_

_ "Fitting, actually, for someone who studies the stars," Loki managed, still confused. "You are not… my true form did not alarm you?"_

_ "Well… a little," Jane admitted, but took his hand and wound her fingers through his. "But you're a very pretty shade of blue. That's not the biggest problem with this situation though."_

_ "Then what is?"_

_ Jane laid her head back against the wall, tracing the embedded columns up to the arched ceiling of Loki's magnificent green and gold chamber, now flooded with light from the morning sun. A servant would probably knock on the door any minute, telling them that breakfast was ready. _

_ "Telling my parents that after six months of sketchy phone calls and never staying longer than two nights, I'm pregnant."_

LJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJ

Talking had helped, but only one of them. Loki instantly regretted telling Jane about the nightmare which preceded his trip into memory, but there was nothing he could do since she claimed she was alright, it was just morning sickness that made her so pale.

_Imbecile_, he thought as Jane put a hand on her forehead, brow furrowed in pain. _Your last day and you decide to regale her with horror stories. _

"Jane-"

"It wasn't you, honestly," she gritted out, arms suddenly swinging around her torso as a shiver wracked her body. Goosebumps stood out on her fair skin, and the harsh set of her jaw made it evident that she was resisting allowing her teeth to chatter.

"You are not well," Loki frowned, getting up and coming around the table to kneel in front of her, rubbing up and down on her arms to warm her.

"Yeah, must have something to do with having an ice-cube child," she bit out irritably, but instantly looked repentant. "I'm sorry- this is recent, I promise, it'll pass soon."

"You hid your discomfort from me."

There was no regret in her expression this time.

"Of course, it was nothing to worry about. Just a few cold flashes from time to time and a headache or two, probably perfectly normal for something like this."

"'This' has never occurred before, at least according to my knowledge," Loki said. "You have to tell me the truth about these things, love, otherwise no one will be able to help you."

"Right now the only 'help' I need can come from some food that I won't immediately throw up and a winter jacket."

_Review!_


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